The Sunshine Double of Indian Wells and Miami Open is attracting former Grand Slam champions with wildcards in a bid to enrich the star power of the tournaments, highlighting the allure of legendary players in boosting ticket sales.

The strategy of allocating wildcards to iconic players reflects the efforts to enhance the appeal and competitiveness of major tennis events.

• Venus Williams, 43, secures wildcards for both Indian Wells and Miami Open.American players like Amanda Anisimova, McCartney Kessler, and Ashlyn Krueger also receive Indian Wells wildcards.
• Indian Wells and Miami Open, prestigious events in the United States, are set to feature a star-studded lineup with both defending champions and former Grand Slam winners vying for titles.

• The draws for Indian Wells will be unveiled on March 4, with matches commencing on March 6, while the Miami Open’s main draw kicks off on March 20.

Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Emma Raducanu have been awarded wildcard picks for the upcoming Miami Open next month. Whilst this guarantees further interest in an already huge tournament, some fans aren’t happy with the organiser’s decision.

“Interesting turn from giving it away to promising juniors over the years, now distributed to 3 pensioners,” one user said on X. “All will go to waste. Maybe Woz [Caroline Wozniacki] can sneak a win or two but seriously give it to some young girls,” stated another.

43-year-old Williams has not played competitively since the US Open, where she suffered a first round defeat to qualifier Greet Minnen. Wozniacki made a return to tennis in August having retired in 2020, while Raducanu has failed to recapture the form that saw her win the US Open on debut. The Brit was the only one of the three to play in last year’s event, losing her first match to Canadian Bianca Andreescu 6-3 3-6 6-2.